Sienna & Noah's Nursery

Little Mr. Noah Hullinger Ware came a three days early on May 27! In fact, I was at Target getting one more thing for the nursery when my water broke! His early arrival caught me off guard because my daughter came four days late but since he has been such a good sleeper, I was able to hurry and get pictures of his finished nursery before he really makes me start working. 

Here is Sienna's side. Not much changed here except I painted her crib white to match the one I bought for Noah. Painting that crib was NOT fun. I repeat: NOT fun at all. But now that it's done, I love how it freshens up the room. And, like I said, it matches Noah's crib; it would have royally bugged me if they didn't match even though for a long time I was hoping to buy a natural wood colored crib for Noah to match Sienna's but decided it would be too hard to get the exact right tone of blonde wood. 

Here is their closet. Her side of diapers and blankets, his side of diapers and blankets (except I just realized their diapers are switched in this photo - oops) with wipes in the middle. I like having the metal baskets so I can be well aware when I am running low on supplies. And it looks like I am low on wipes!

The room is small, so in order to keep the big glider in the room we ended up putting the dresser in the closet. I actually really like that we can put everything away at the end of the day or during nap time and close the doors so all distractions are out of view and the kids can just focus on sleeping.

And, yes, that is a shower caddie. I wanted some more shelves at the changing station and liked how this matched the baskets above. The knobs are yellow flowers from World Market, on sale (4 for $7) - a much more sensible option than Anthropologie knobs I always pine for. I added the knobs to that bird tray (in case you can't tell what that is on the right) I got at an antique shop in Oregon awhile ago which turned it into something to hang things from.

I made the changing pad on the top of the dresser by cutting down the mattress that came with my son's portable crib and then making a couple slip covers out of cheap fabric. The other cover is green polka dot.

Here's Noah's side. I bought him a portable crib since he will be transported from room to room for several months for nighttime and naps. Right now he is sleeping next to me on the couch! The sleep situation is always evolving, so I know this portable crib will be put to excellent use.

The reversible pillow is from Target. See? Boy side:

And girl side:

And, finally, my favorite accessory in the room: that $4 red stool from a thrift store. It's perfect as a side table for stacking books for story time.

I hope you enjoyed my little nursery tour! I really enjoyed putting it together. What I love the most about it is that it's not too matchy matchy, not too blue or pink saturated and not too cutesy. It was not easy figuring out how to make sure two genders were represented, but it became a bit easier when I let go of stringent boy/girl color schemes or mainstream nursery styles and instead collected/made little pieces along the way that made me happy. When I go in that room it just makes me happy! And that's the kind of environment I want for my happy little kiddies.

Hot Air Balloon Canvas

I'm almost finished with my boy/girl nursery, and this hot air balloon canvas is one of the final projects. It's been hanging over my head for a long time because I knew what I wanted but couldn't find a way to execute it. I have been searching for some old book with big pictures or drawings of hot air balloons to cut out, but that never panned out. Then I saw a post by Stephmodo; she had done a hot air balloon party for her daughter and used this wrapping paper from Clover, a kids' store near my house. Isn't it adorable? Vintage looking and everything. 

I thought it'd be perfect until I started cutting each balloon out and putting them all over my 24 x 30 inch canvas I had already spray painted blue. The scale wasn't working; the balloons were just too tiny. So, I started doing my own thing. 

I cut templates for three different sized balloons and baskets and used them to cut simple balloons out of my own paper.

I added some frills. Hopefully they are still boyish-enough frills. Are they? I kept having to remind myself that this is for a BOY and not a girl. I don't know - maybe when I meet him, I'll realize the error of my frills and tear it down and try again. But for now, I actually really like it. I incorporated the tiny, vintage balloons from the wrapping paper and the canvas looked like this:

I stared at it for days because something about it was BUGGING me. I tore off the tiny balloons because I feel like they were trying too hard to fit in, plus it felt a little too busy with them there. 

And now it looks like this:

I like it sooooo much better. I realize it's very kitschy, especially those hilarious clouds. But I like it; kitschy works for me, and it'll go better with the hot air balloon mobile, too.

What do you think? Were the tiny, vintage balloons working? Or was I right to rip them off? 

And what about you - have you attempted your own artwork for your children's rooms? Is it something you're proud of and love to see every time you hang out in the nursery? That is my one criteria for things in the nursery: do I love seeing it every time I go in? Or does it just BUG? I will hang this thing up and know soon enough if it bugs ... and if it does, I'll tear it down and start over on something else.

*Martha

Hot Air Balloon Mobile

For my future son (due in two months!) I decided to make a hot air balloon mobile for his side of the nursery from the idea here.

I followed her tutorial for the most part but made a few variations of my own. I started with a template for the balloon. I did mine from card stock. Fold it in half and draw half the hot air balloon (like you'd do for Valentine hearts). No template here, just winging it. I drew it big and fat and basically cut it down 10 times using some Google images of real hot air balloons to get the shape right.

There are 6 sides to one balloon and I had enough paper to cut out 66 flat balloon shapes and piece them into 11 balloons.

I mixed and matched with patterned paper so each balloon looks different depending on which angle you are viewing it from. It'd be just as cute to do each balloon in the same pattern/color, I think. I even fancied the idea of making each balloon with only 4 sides because I was getting tired of cutting. I think that'd work, too. But the more dimensions the balloon has, the more visually interesting it is, and I'm glad I went the extra mile to make them all 6-sided. I glued them together with Elmer's glue.

I used an awl to stab a hole near the top.

STAB!

I was going to use blue yarn but the hole wasn't big enough. So I bought some basic twine-like string. Can't remember what it's called. I still had to force the hole bigger to get that through, but it all worked out. I tied a knot at the top of the balloon and tied it at the top of the embroidery hoop. Still working on what to do about all those fringy knot tops. But here's the mostly done mobile:

And future baby boy's view from the crib: 

I'll post it again when it's in place in the finished nursery. Stay tuned for some wall art inspired by hot air balloons, too. 


*Martha

Mobiles for Boy Nursery

I've been thinking a lot about baby boy nursery stuff. He'll be sharing a room with his older sister for a couple years so decorating is going to be tricky. I don't really plan to go completely unisex with the design. I'll keep up several of her pink things and add several blue things for him. The rest may evolve around yellows and greens. Or not. 

Here are a few boy mobiles I'm digging lately. I plan to make one, whatever it may be, and I'm using these for inspiration:

Black and white monsters.

My daughter has a pink paper crane mobile. I love this white one!

Globes are always cool.

I actually like this white mobile, too, even though it's snowflakes (via  Kootut murut). Love the branches.

Wooden fish. Yes and yes.

Not sure what these are but I'm going to say boats. Felt boats. Easy to replicate.

This nursery was by a former Design Star contestant. You can't really see the mobile too well but it's a top favorite. Very minimalistic which I can't get enough of.

Another minimal modern one via OhDeeDoh. 

This beautiful boat mobile from Cup of Jo is an all time favorite. Not DIY, but would be worth buying, I think.

*Martha